United Nations Principles and Guidelines on Access to Legal Aid in Criminal Justice Systems A/RES/67/187 Guideline 15 Regulation and oversight of legal aid providers 69. In adherence to principle 12, and subject to existing national legislation ensuring transparency and accountability, States, in cooperation with professional associations, should: (a) Ensure that criteria are set for the accreditation of legal aid providers; (b) Ensure that legal aid providers are subject to applicable professional codes of conduct, with appropriate sanctions for infractions; (c) Establish rules to ensure that legal aid providers are not allowed to request any payment from the beneficiaries of legal aid, except when authorized to do so; (d) Ensure that disciplinary complaints against legal aid providers are reviewed by impartial bodies; (e) Establish appropriate oversight mechanisms for legal aid providers, in particular with a view to preventing corruption. Guideline 16 Partnerships with non-State legal aid service providers and universities 70. States should, where appropriate, engage in partnerships with non-State legal aid service providers, including non-governmental organizations and other service providers. 71. To this end, States should take measures, in consultation with civil society and justice agencies and professional associations: (a) To recognize in their legal systems the role to be played by non-State actors in providing legal aid services to meet the needs of the population; (b) To set quality standards for legal aid services and support the development of standardized training programmes for non-State legal aid service providers; (c) To establish monitoring and evaluation mechanisms to ensure the quality of legal aid services, in particular those provided at no cost; (d) To work with all legal aid service providers to increase outreach, quality and impact and facilitate access to legal aid in all parts of the country and in all communities, especially in rural and economically and socially disadvantaged areas and among minority groups; (e) To diversify legal aid service providers by adopting a comprehensive approach, for example, by encouraging the establishment of centres to provide legal aid services that are staffed by lawyers and paralegals and by entering into agreements with law societies and bar associations, university law clinics and non-governmental and other organizations to provide legal aid services. 72. States should, where appropriate, also take measures: (a) To encourage and support the establishment of legal aid clinics in law departments within universities to promote clinical and public interest law programmes among faculty members and the student body, including in the accredited curriculum of universities; (b) To encourage and provide incentives to law students to participate, under proper supervision and in accordance with national law or practice, in a legal aid clinic or other legal aid community scheme, as part of their academic curriculum or professional development; 19/20